
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, April 27, 1995                   TAG: 9504270035
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CHICAGO                                LENGTH: Short

GENE DEFECT HELPS PREDICT ALZHEIMER'S

A gene defect known to be common in Alzheimer's patients has for the first time proven useful in predicting development of the disease, researchers say.

A team at the Mayo Clinic found that elderly patients who had greater-than-average memory problems and also had the gene defect were much more likely to develop Alzheimer's than those without the defect.

But the defect is far from a perfect predictor, the researchers cautioned in Wednesday's issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.

Some memory-impaired patients with the APO-E4 defect - a variant of a gene that helps process cholesterol - did not deteriorate mentally, the researchers said.

Other patients who lacked the defect went on to develop Alzheimer's, said the researchers, led by Dr. Ronald C. Petersen, a neurologist at the clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Sheryl L. Williams, vice president for medical and scientific affairs of the Alzheimer's Association in Chicago, said the study confirms what scientists have thought.

``In order to get a clear picture of APO-E4, a lot of these studies need to be done,'' said Williams, who was not involved in the work. ``If we can find out exactly what puts people at risk, we can figure out whether those factors can be modified,'' such as through dietary changes or drug therapy.

``That's exactly what's been done with heart disease,'' she said.

by CNB